Many conveyor systems include discontinuous turns and junctions between two different sections of conveyor. Discontinuous turns are increasingly included in conveyor systems as plant space is at a premium. These discontinuous turns, which are often at right angles, present problems in transferring products from one conveyor to another because of the gap which exists between a side or end of one conveyor section and the conveying surface of an adjacent conveyor section. In prior designs, this gap is filled with a non-moving "deadplate" which bridges the gap between the two conveyors.
The prior art deadplate does not convey articles, it merely provides a surface over which articles may be pushed by the line pressure from upstream articles. When it is desired to end the conveying run of a particular article (to replace it with another or relabeled article), however, line pressure ceases and a few of the old articles or old labels may stall on the deadplate. Stalled articles must be removed from the deadplate to avoid the possibility of mislabeled, mispacked or misfilled articles. Conveyor systems, especially in canning and bottling plants, undergo frequent container and label changes such that elimination of the need to manually remove articles from deadplates reduces the operational and maintenance costs of running conveyor systems.
Some prior designs have sought to overcome this deadplate clearing problem by using a third conveyor or other mechanism to move articles over the discontinuity or gap between the first and second conveying systems. Examples of these types of conveyors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,751, 3,701,407 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,331,217. The disadvantage of these designs, however, is that they require additional equipment and cost both to manufacture and maintain. Another disadvantage of the '217 patent design is that use of rollers may damage delicate articles.
What is desired, therefore, is a system for transferring articles directly from a first conveyor section to a second, discontinuously-aligned conveyor section or other surface without the use of either a deadplate which necessitates a clearing step at changeovers, or a third conveying mechanism which increases manufacturing and maintenance costs.